Booker, Ayton, NBA-leading Suns rout Bulls 129-102

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points and the Phoenix Suns moved closer to wrapping up the NBA’s best regular-season record, routing the Chicago Bulls 129-102 on Friday night.

At a franchise-best 57-14 through 71 games, the Suns moved nine-games ahead of second-place Memphis with 11 games left. Memphis lost at Atlanta earlier Friday.

Deandre Ayton added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns. Cameron Payne scored 15 points, Torrey Craig and Landry Shamet had 14 each, JaVale McGee 12 and Mikael Bridges 11.

DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points for Chicago, fifth in the Eastern Conference at 41-29. Nikola Vucevic added 16 points. Coby White had 14, Zach LaVine 12 and Tristan Thompson 11.

The Suns are 9-4 without point guard Chris Paul. He’s out with a fractured right thumb. Starting forward and Cam Johnson and sixth-man Jae Crowder also missed the game.

NETS 128, TRAIL BLAZERS 123

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 38 points and Seth Curry returned to the lineup with seven 3-pointers in his best game as a Net to help Brooklyn beat Portland.

Curry finished with 27 points, his most since coming from Philadelphia last month in the trade headlined by James Harden and Ben Simmons. Curry had missed the previous three games with left ankle soreness.

Andre Drummond and Bruce Brown each added 17 points for the Nets, playing again without Kyrie Irving at home. They bounced back from their loss at the buzzer to Dallas on Wednesday and won for the fifth time in six games.

Josh Hart scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who led by 18 early in the second half but couldn’t hold on and lost their third straight. Brandon Williams added 24 points.

LAKERS 128, RAPTORS 123, OT

TORONTO (AP) — LeBron James scored 19 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Russell Westbrook had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists and Los Angeles beat Toronto to snap a three-game losing streak.

Avery Bradley hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.5 seconds left in the extra session, putting the Lakers up 125-123, then added a pair of free throws after a turnover by Toronto rookie Scottie Barnes.

James shot 15 for 26 and went 2 for 7 from 3-point range. He had nine rebounds.

Barnes had 31 points and 17 rebounds. Toronto had won five in a row.

76ERS 111, MAVERICKS 101

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 32 points, James Harden had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Philadelphia 76ers beat Dallas,

Embiid was 11 of 20 from the floor. Harden also had seven rebounds. Tobias Harris added 14 points, Georges Niang had 12 and Matisse Thybulle 10.

Jalen Brunson, the former Villanova star who played a good portion of his college home games at the Wells Fargo Center, hit his first seven shots and led Dallas with 24 points. He finished 10 of 14.

Luka Doncic had 17 points and 10 assists. He was 5 for 20 from the floor and 2 for 10 on 3s.

HEAT 120, THUNDER 108

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro got through an ankle scare and scored 26 points, Duncan Robinson scored 19 points in 19 minutes and the Eastern Conference-leading Miami topped Oklahoma City.

Bam Adebayo had 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting and Kyle Lowry added 16.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played through ankle soreness and scored 26 points for the injury-depleted Thunder. They have dropped eight straight and reached the 50-loss mark in back-to-back seasons.

JAZZ 121, CLIPPERS 92

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 19 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, Jared Butler scored a career-high 21 points and Utah beat Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Jordan Clarkson added 20 points, Eric Paschall 17 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 13 points in his first start for Utah, which was without Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic. Mitchell sat out with a right calf contusion, while Bogdanovic missed his third straight game because of a left calf strain.

Robert Covington led Los Angeles with 18 point.

HAWKS 120, GRIZZLIES 105

ATLANTA (AP) — Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 30 points, Delon Wright had 18 and Atlanta beat Memphis without Hawks star guard Trae Young sidelined by a bruised left quad.

Wright, filling in for Young, provided a big boost for Atlanta, which is clinging to the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference and final spot in the play-in tournament. Wright had five steals and six assists.

Ja Morant scored 29 points for Memphis.

CAVALIERS 119, NUGGETS 116, OT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Lauri Markkanen made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in overtime and scored a season-high 31 points, helping Cleveland end Denver’s franchise-record road winning streak at seven.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic scored in the paint to cut Cleveland’s lead to 117-116 with 25 seconds remaining, but rookie Evan Mobley dunked over Aaron Gordon to restore the Cavaliers’ three-point advantage. Bones Hyland missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Mobley scored nine of his 27 points in OT and had 11 rebounds for Cleveland. All-Star Darius Garland had 25 points and 14 assists, and Markkanen added 10 rebounds and four steals.

Jokic had 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but committed a turnover and missed a shot in the final 1:40 of the extra period. Denver lost on the road for the first time since Feb. 11 at Boston.

CELTICS 126, KINGS 97

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jayson Tatum made seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 points and Boston routed Sacramento,

Payton Pritchard had 14 points and eight assists as the Celtics won for the seventh time in eight games to remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Domantis Sabonis had 30 points and 20 rebounds for Sacramento. The Kings have lost nine of 12 since the All-Star break.

KNICKS 100, WIZARDS 97

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle had 18 points and 17 rebounds, RJ Barrett also scored 18 points and New York outlasted Washington.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Wizards. They have lost six straight.

Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Washington.

PELICANS 124, SPURS 91

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — C.J. McCollum had 20 points and New Orleans beat San Antonio to strengthen its play-in hopes.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Jaxson Hayes also scored 16 points for New Orleans. The Pelicans won for the second time in seven games.

Devin Vassell had 18 points and Dejounte Murray had 17 for San Antonio. The Spurs dropped 2 1/2 games behind New Orleans for the 10th and the final berth in the play-in tournament.

PACERS 121, ROCKETS 118

HOUSTON (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points and Goga Bitadze added 23, including two key baskets down the stretch, to help Indiana beat Houston.

Christian Wood had 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets.